Car Crash
by kensi54382
Summary: Tony is in an accident and loses his memory. The last 14 years are gone, and Tony now has to rebuild his life.
1. Chapter 1

**11 April, 2016**

Tony was driving in to work on Monday morning, listening to a new CD he had just bought. It was a single from one of his favourite artists, so he had begun to sing along. He had the window closed since it was cold outside, and the heater was on full blast. It was nice inside the car, and Tony was comfortable. It was still early, only seven fifty am. He had been planning on stopping for coffee and a small snack a little closer to the NCIS building.

Suddenly, Tony heard a screeching sound and brakes all around him. He slammed on his own brakes just in time to see a car barrelling towards him at well over the forty mile an hour speed limit. He could see the driver smiling, and Tony knew he had no way of getting out of the car's path. He braced for impact as the car hit his from the front. Tony felt himself get thrown backwards into his seat, the belt holding him there. His head hit the head rest on the seat, while his legs felt like they were being squashed beneath the collapsing dashboard. He could feel warmth on his legs and at the back of his head, as well as on his face and chest, where glass shards from the windscreen had cut his skin open. He knew he couldn't close his eyes, so he tried desperately to undo his seatbelt. When he finally got it off and looked up, he saw that the driver of the other vehicle was out of his car, limping but otherwise unhurt. He smirked as he passed by Tony's car and continued towards the footpath.

People were screaming all around Tony, but he couldn't understand any of them. It was all blending into one loud noise. Unsure of what was happening, Tony tried to open his door, but he was unsuccessful. He tried a second time, but was still unsuccessful.

"Sir? Are you hurt?"

Tony squinted as he looked out of his window. Relief washed over him when he saw a police officer outside his car.

"My legs are stuck, I think," said Tony, though it came out sounding like he was drunk.

"Okay. Paramedics and rescue are on the way. I need you to stay awake for me, alright? Can you do that for me?"

"Help me…"

"I'm not going anywhere. What's your name?"

"Tony."

"Tony, can you tell me what your job is?"

Tony coughed, and when he lifted his hand to wipe his mouth, he found blood there.

"Please, help…"

"Tony, stay awake. I need you to talk to me. Can you do that?"

Tony looked back at the officer that was talking to him. "Please don't leave…"

"I'm not leaving. Where do you work?"

Coughing again, Tony reached for the officer's hand. She carefully took it and held on, trying to calm Tony down.

"Tony, where do you work?" she asked again, full of patience.

"N… NCIS."

"Okay. Who's your boss? We can call them for you."

"Gibbs." Tony's eyes closed, and he struggled to open them again. "Want… I want Gibbs."

"We're getting him now." The officer used her free hand to radio through to her boss. "Get Agent Gibbs from NCIS down here. And how far is Rescue?"

"Rescue are arriving now," said a voice over the radio.

"Okay, Tony, I need you to let go of my hand so that the rescue team can get you out. As soon as they open the door, I'll come back."

Tony shook as he let go and put his hand back inside the car. He was getting dizzy and felt sick. He heard a power saw and then his door was laying on the road. A minute later, his passenger side door was also on the road, and a man he recognised as Fire Captain James Marsh from Baltimore was laying on the passenger seat.

"Hey, Tony. How about we get you out of here, hey?"

"What are you doing here?" Tony asked before coughing again.

"Saving your butt. Lucky I was passing by on the way back to Baltimore. What happened?"

"He came into my lane. It wasn't my fault."

"Nobody said it was. There are plenty of witnesses that said you tried to stop and get out of the way. You're in the clear."

"He ran off."

"Don't worry. The police will find him. Tell me, how have you been lately?"

"Busy. You?"

"Extremely busy saving you." Marsh grinned. "Come on, tell me about the last movie you watched."

Tony coughed again, not even bothering to wipe away blood this time.

"What was it called?" Marsh asked.

"Aladdin."

"Aladdin? Really?"

"There wasn't anything on the TV."

"How much of it did you watch?" Marsh noticed a paramedic on the driver side as he spoke.

"All of it." Tony coughed yet again.

"Tony, I'm a medic. I'm going to check you out, but I need you to keep talking, okay?"

Tony looked at the paramedic next to him, then back at Marsh. He felt the medic lift his left sleeve and wrap a blood pressure cuff around his upper arm. He felt the leather cuff tighten around his arm before he realised that Marsh was talking to him.

"I didn't hear you," Tony said.

"That's alright. I asked you if it was the cartoon version or the real-life version." Marsh took Tony's hand and squeezed it to keep Tony awake.

"Cartoon." Tony felt a stethoscope on his chest and looked at the medic. He watched as the stethoscope was taken away and the medic pulled out electrodes.

"Alright, Tony, I'm going to put a heart monitor onto you so we can keep an eye out. I'm just going to undo your shirt first, okay?" asked the medic.

"Okay." Tony waited while the paramedic removed his tie and undid the buttons on his shirt. He saw the medic take the electrodes off their sheet and stick them to his chest, quickly followed by several wires that were attached to the electrodes.

"Okay, keep talking." The medic looked at a hand-held monitor while Tony's heart rate registered on it, then placed a pulse oximeter onto Tony's right index finger.

"Tony, pay attention," said Marsh.

Tony looked back. "I don't feel very well."

"I know. Just focus on me."

"Where's Gibbs?"

"He's coming. Until he gets here, stay awake for me. Tell me what the best part of Aladdin was."

Tony coughed violently this time. Both the paramedic and Marsh looked at each other worriedly. The paramedic reached behind Tony and moved him forward until he was leaning towards the ruined dashboard. Tony continued coughing for a couple of minutes, then when he stopped, the paramedic carefully leaned him back against the seat.

"Tony, I'm going to give you some oxygen. Don't fight it, just breathe." The paramedic gently placed an oxygen mask over Tony's mouth and nose, and Tony breathed the air in hungrily.

"Is he okay?" Marsh asked.

"His heart rate is dropping. He's losing too much blood from his legs. Who is this Gibbs he is asking for?"

"His boss."

"Get him here now. Tony needs to be calm, and neither of us are achieving that."

Marsh nodded. He climbed out of the car, noticing that his men were almost through the front of his car. Marsh ran up the street, seeing Gibbs jumping out of his car.

"What happened?" Gibbs demanded. "Where's DiNozzo?"

"In his car! Listen, Gibbs, right now is not the time to talk. Tony needs you, preferably before he passes out," said Marsh. "Come with me."

Gibbs followed the fire captain back towards Tony's car, his heart dropping the moment he spotted Tony's ruined vehicle. He was surprised, but grateful, that the crushed car hadn't killed Tony instantly.

"Tony, Tony, can you hear me?" Gibbs asked once he was inside the car.

Tony turned his head towards Gibbs' voice. He had closed his eyes again, this time not even trying to open them.

"Good. Tony, I'm right here, okay? I'm not going anywhere." Gibbs reached out and took Tony's hand, seeing his agent close his fingers around Gibbs'.

"Boss," said Tony, his voice barely audible. "Wasn't my… fault…"

"Don't worry about that, Tony. Just stay still so that rescue can get you free." Gibbs moved further into the car. "Stay awake."

"I… I can't… Sorry, boss…"

Tony turned his head back so it was against the seat, and then all Gibbs could hear was the deafening beeping from the heart monitor. Tony's hand had gone slack in his.

"Tony?" Gibbs squeezed Tony's hand. "Hey, DiNozzo?"

The paramedic looked over. "He's unconscious. We really need to get him to a hospital."

Gibbs sighed and cursed. He backed out of the car and checked with Marsh, glad to find out that the dashboard had been lifted up.

"You can pull him out," said Gibbs to the medic. "I'm going with him."

"Of course." The medic and his partner made quick work of pulling Tony free and getting him onto a stretcher. They made their way to the ambulance, Gibbs right behind them.


	2. Chapter 2

Gibbs sat in the ICU waiting room, where he had been told Tony would be after surgery. That had been almost four hours ago, and there was still no word of what was happening. Gibbs had requested that Tony be put under Brad's care, and thankfully, that had been arranged with ease.

"Gibbs?"

Looking up, Gibbs saw a very tired looking Brad and a very scared looking Abby in front of him. It was Abby that had spoken.

"Tell me you have good news," Gibbs said to Brad.

"Not yet. Tony's still in surgery. Both his legs are broken, he has multiple deep lacerations covering his body, and he has internal injuries. He's not going to be out for at least another few hours."

"Why? Why Tony?" The question was rhetorical.

"I'm sorry, Gibbs. I wish I could give you answers, I really do."

"Is he going to be okay?"

"I don't know. Until he wakes up, there's not much I can do."

"You said he has internal injuries. Are his lungs affected?"

"Luckily, no. We had to remove his appendix because it was damaged, and we had to remove a section of his right kidney. We stitched up his left kidney and put in a couple of plates to support a few of his ribs. That's just the beginning. We've got a neurosurgeon operating on part of Tony's skull to repair the broken bone and he's definitely got some swelling beneath that."

"Will that heal?"

"In time, yes. But there's no telling how much permanent damage there might be."

"When he wakes up, is he going to remember anything that happened?"

"He might. Until then, I can't give you an answer."

Gibbs sighed. He nodded, thanked Brad, then watched as the doctor left.

"Gibbs," said Abby. She sounded like she was trying to not cry.

Gibbs held an arm out and Abby sat next to him. He wrapped the arm around her, feeling very much like crying himself.

* * *

Bishop and McGee were sitting in Autopsy with Ducky and Palmer when Gibbs called. He had already told them he was on the way to the hospital with Tony, but he hadn't told them anything else. Metro PD had sent Tony's car to the garage, and Abby had instructed her helpers in there to leave Tony's car untouched until she returned. They had no other evidence to work with, so they had joined Ducky for a cup of tea.

"Jethro, how's Anthony?" Ducky asked.

"Still in surgery, Duck. Abby's with me. Where are the others?"

"With me. What do you need us to do?"

"Nothing. Just work on cold cases for now Tim. Ellie, help with the cases, but I need you to first speak with Vance about calling Tony's father."

"Of course," said Bishop. "We'll get right on it. Let us know what happens with Tony, and we'll come down there in a little while."

"Thank you both. You too Palmer."

"Me? Why?" asked Palmer.

"Because I don't thank you enough. I really should thank all of you more."

"Jethro, we all understand that you are grateful, even if you don't say it. Look after Anthony, and let us know how he is." Ducky ended the call before Gibbs could say anything else.

* * *

Gibbs had been sitting with Abby for five hours now. It was six pm, and Tony still wasn't out of surgery yet, which was getting far too worrying for Gibbs, since he had thought that the doctors would be done by now. Just how much damage had Tony sustained in that crash? And how had he managed to stay awake for so long? It was all just too confusing and strange.

"Gibbs? Is Tony out yet?" Abby asked, finally waking from a restless sleep.

"No. I'm hoping Brad will be here soon with news." Gibbs pulled Abby closer and kissed her head.

"I'm scared."

"Me too, Abbs, me too."

* * *

Brad finally pushed Tony's bed into his room in the intensive care unit. It had been a long eight hours in the operating room, and Tony had just spent an hour in recovery. He still wasn't awake. Brad was afraid that Tony's injuries were too severe for him to recover from, though he truly hoped he was wrong about that. He didn't want to have to give any worse news to Gibbs. He wanted to tell Gibbs that Tony was conscious and healing well.

With a soft sigh, Brad left Tony to rest and headed over to the waiting room.

* * *

Brad entered the waiting room and saw Gibbs cuddling Abby. He went over and sat in a chair across from them.

"Is Tony out of surgery yet?" Gibbs asked as Abby sat up.

"Yes. He's in his room now, but he's unconscious still. I'm not sure if he's going to wake up at all."

"He has to wake up," whimpered Abby as she struggled to stop herself from crying. "Tony has to wake up. He's my best friend."

Brad nodded. "I know he's your best friend, Abby, but Tony is severely injured. There is every possibility that he won't recover. And if he does wake up, there's the chance that he could have permanent damage that we cannot fix."

"I want to see him."

"I'll let you both in for ten minutes, but that's all. You can come back tomorrow morning."

"Thank you," Gibbs said as he took Abby's hand and followed Brad to Tony's room.


	3. Chapter 3

**12 April, 2016**

It was seven thirty in the morning, and Gibbs had just arrived at Bethesda. He was sitting in Tony's room, but his agent was still unconscious. A nurse had been in when Gibbs arrived, and she had told him that Tony's condition hadn't changed since the previous night. It was hard for Gibbs to see Tony like that. Both of his legs were broken, though the right one had taken most of the impact. His right leg was in plaster while the bone healed, and the left one had only a half cast held in place by bandages. Tony's left wrist was swollen where the tissue had been bruised, and it was on top of a pillow to allow the swelling to go down.

Gibbs felt anger bubbling up in him as he looked around the room. Tony had been hooked up to a heart monitor, which was also monitoring his blood pressure and pulse; he had been put on oxygen, thankfully just a nasal cannula and not a breathing tube was being used; and he had an IV in his right arm. Bandages covered Tony's head and, although they weren't visible, bandages covered most of Tony's rib cage. He looked so small and vulnerable, which made Gibbs even angrier. He didn't understand how someone could do this to another person. He knew that Metro PD were looking for the person that had smashed into Tony's car, but it did nothing to help him feel any better.

"Ah, Tony, come on. It's time to wake up," said Gibbs softly to his agent.

* * *

Tony woke up in hospital, almost a day after his accident. His head was sore, as was the rest of his body. But at least that pain was bearable. His legs felt like lead and were hurting him so much more than the rest of his body.

Tony looked around him and spotted someone on a chair nearby. He didn't look familiar, but Tony just thought that he didn't recognise the person because he was tired. He closed his eyes again for a few moments until he felt less out of it. When he opened his eyes, Tony saw that the man was still there, this time looking up with relief.

"DiNozzo? Are you alright?" Gibbs asked as he moved to stand next to his agent's head.

"Who are you?" Tony asked.

Gibbs frowned. "Tony, don't be playing games with me."

"Playing games? Look, I don't know who you're looking for, but it isn't me. I've never seen you in my life."

Shocked and extremely worried, Gibbs reached up and pushed the call button on the wall behind Tony's bed. He was glad that a nurse came in immediately.

"Mr DiNozzo, I'm Nurse Johansson. Can you tell me how you're feeling?" The nurse grabbed a stethoscope and checked Tony's breathing as she spoke to him.

"Who is that?" Tony asked, feeling confused and lost.

"That's Agent Gibbs. He's your boss." The nurse didn't seem too worried, or, at least, she could hide it well. "You don't recognise him?"

"No. My boss' name is Major Frank Raimey."

Nurse Johansson heard a sigh come from Gibbs but ignored for now. Instead she focused on Tony.

"Can you tell me what year it is Tony?"

"2002."

"Okay." The nurse turned to Gibbs. "I'll call Dr Pitt and have him run a few tests. The memory loss could be temporary, but it's best to be sure."

"Thank you," said Gibbs.

"Also, I think it might better if you leave. He doesn't know you, and there's no sense in getting him agitated."

Gibbs nodded. He followed the nurse out of the room, worry seeping into his head more than it had been already. He was glad to see Brad making his way into Tony's room only a few minutes later.

* * *

"Hey, Tony," said Brad. He had just spoken to the nurse and knew that Tony didn't recognise him. "I'm Dr Brad Pitt."

Tony raised his eyebrows. "Brad Pitt? Seriously?"

"I'm being serious." Brad shrugged. "There's no relation unfortunately. I'd like to meet Angelina."

"Do people ever believe you straight away?"

"No."

"I didn't think they would. Are you my doctor?"

"I am. How are you feeling?"

"Sore. Everything hurts." Tony frowned for a second. "Did you play football in college?"

"I did. University of Michigan."

"I think I remember you. You broke my leg in that last game."

"I did, accidentally."

"It was a good game though."

"I hope I didn't screw things up for you."

"You didn't. I'm a cop now."

"So I heard. Where are you working?"

"Baltimore. I transferred there almost two years ago now from Philadelphia."

"How long have you been a cop?"

"Almost six years, I think. I started off in Peoria."

"Peoria, Illinois?"

"Yeah."

"Sounds boring."

"It wasn't too bad. It was better than Baltimore. Philly was the best place by far."

"You don't like Baltimore?"

"Not really. But nobody else is interested in taking me, so I'm staying there."

"Why don't you try a different law enforcement career?"

"What do you mean?"

"Try something like the FBI or the defence department."

"I don't know. I think I'm good for now."

"Okay. Now, before I get you some pain relief, can I check you?"

"Sure. So, why did you become a doctor?" Tony asked as Brad listened to his breathing.

"Football was never my passion. I just wanted to do a sport so I could have an activity outside studying. Was it your passion?"

"I always wanted to play football, until I started playing it. Then I realised it wasn't for me. It was fun, and if I'd been drafted, I would have done it, but I wasn't fussed by it."

"You were really good at it," said Brad as he gently touched Tony's head.

"So were you. I remember you guys won that game." Tony winced at Brad's touch, but focused on their conversation.

"We did." Brad moved from Tony's head and moved the blankets to check Tony's ribs. "And we won the next the year too."

"Of course you did." Tony looked at Brad's hands as they moved gently down his chest and sides. "So, how bad are the injuries?"

Brad sighed. "I wish I had better news for you, Tony, I really do."

"Just tell me, I can take it."

"Both of your legs are broken; your ribs are cracked most of the way down both sides of your chest; a couple of your ribs are broken and fixed in place with plates; your brain is swollen beneath the area of your skull that was broken and had to be glued back together; your left wrist has bruised tissue inside it; and you have so many cuts and bruises that I lost count of them. We cut some of your right kidney off because it was too damaged to heal, and we removed your appendix too."

"That's bad. How did this happen?"

"You were in a car accident yesterday morning." Brad covered Tony again and moved to his legs. He lifted the blanket up and checked the bandages on the right leg.

"No I wasn't. Yesterday morning, I was at work in Baltimore."

"I know you think that's true, Tony, but it isn't. I spoke with Nurse Johansson before I came in here, and she told me that you think it's 2002."

"It is 2002." Tony frowned as he watched Brad check the plaster on his left leg.

"Actually, Tony, it's 2016. Your head injuries have caused some memory loss."

"Some? If it is 2016, that's fourteen years, Dr Pitt. I think that's a little more than 'some'."

"Call me Brad. And, yes, it is more than 'some' memory loss."

"Is it going to come back?"

"It should come back once you've had some time to recover, but I won't guarantee anything."

"What hospital is this, Brad?"

"Bethesda Naval Hospital."

"I'm not in the Navy."

"I know that. This was the closest hospital to where you had the accident."

"I highly doubt this is closest to Baltimore."

"You had the accident about five minutes from here, not in Baltimore." Brad finished checking Tony's legs and covered them with the blanket again. "I want you to get some rest. I'll come back later and see how you're doing."

"Who was that man that was here? Agent Gibbs, I think the nurse called him."

"Did the nurse say anything else?"

"He's supposedly my boss."

"That's because he is, you just don't have any memory of it."

"I don't want him in here. I don't know who he is."

"That's fine. I'm going to speak with him now, and I'll tell him that you aren't up for visitors at the moment."

"Thank you." Tony yawned. "Can I get something for the pain now?"

Brad opened a drawer next to the bed and pulled out a syringe filled with morphine. He injected it through the IV and, within seconds, Tony was fast asleep. Once he was sure Tony was asleep, Brad wheeled his bed down to radiology for a CT scan.


	4. Chapter 4

Brad found Gibbs in the waiting room. The agent looked exhausted and scared.

"Gibbs," said Brad, "I can tell you this is a temporary thing. Tony's scans show that his brain is still swollen, but it's coming down. He has some bruising around the swollen area as well as the area surrounding that. We'll have to just wait and see what happens. Hopefully it will only last a couple of days, but I won't guarantee anything."

"What about everything else? Is he going to be able to walk again?"

"I don't see why not. With some physical therapy, it shouldn't be long before he's back on his feet. Again, it's just something we'll have to wait to check on. I'll keep an eye on him in the next couple of days and see how he goes. I'll let you know if anything changes."

"He's lost fourteen years of his life. Major Raimey was his boss in Baltimore."

"Can he come in? Maybe there's something he can say that will trigger Tony's memory."

"We arrested him five years ago."

"That could help. If he comes in wearing a prison jumpsuit, Tony might remember arresting him."

"Is that a good idea?"

"Possibly. It's not really something that you can tell about. You have to do it and hope for the best."

"Can I go in and talk to him?"

"He's sleeping. You can go in this afternoon, but remember that he might not want to talk to you. You are a stranger to him at the moment."

Gibbs thanked the doctor and sat back down again. He called McGee and told him what Brad had said, then hung up and put his head in his hands.

* * *

McGee put his phone on his desk after speaking to Gibbs and sighed. He had hoped that there would be some good news, but there wasn't. He hadn't told Gibbs that they hadn't been able to contact Senior yet either, because he knew that Tony, back in 2002, had hated his father.

"Hey, McGee, has Gibbs called yet?" Bishop asked tiredly.

"I just got off the phone with him. Tony's conscious, but he doesn't remember anything after 2002. He thinks he's still Detective DiNozzo with Baltimore PD. He doesn't even know who Gibbs is."

"Poor guy. That must suck. He hated his days in Baltimore, and now he has to relive them. It isn't fair."

"Brad said it could just be temporary, but fourteen years is a long time to lose. Anyway, did Abby find anything?"

"She's still looking through Tony's car. She said she found paint on what's left of the front of the car, but there's no match yet. I left her collecting glass and DNA."

"It's all going to be Tony's blood."

"Yeah. There's a lot of it. You should see the car, McGee. The front of it is crushed. The dashboard collapsed onto Tony's legs, so rescue cut and lifted it to free Tony. I don't know how he managed to survive that." Bishop felt tears burning her eyes. "He's a hell of a lot stronger than anyone I know."

"Be grateful you weren't here in 2004 when Tony had the plague. It was terrifying, especially when we all thought he was going to die. And then, a couple of years later, someone tried to kill him by blowing up his car. He was lucky that time. The arms dealer that he was trying to catch literally saved his life."

"Man, Tony really has got bad luck, doesn't he?"

"That's not all, but there's too much to explain everything. Just know this: Tony is the toughest guy you'll ever meet. He's also the most sensitive and modest man."

"I hope he gets better quickly."

"Me too."

* * *

Tony opened his eyes and looked around. He could see Brad near the door with Gibbs, which made him wonder what was going on. Brad had said that he would explain that Tony couldn't have visitors yet, so why was that stranger back? As Tony contemplated that, he felt his heart start to beat faster, and heard the heart monitor get louder and faster in time with his heart. He started to panic, trying to get up.

"Tony, relax," said Brad calmly. He held Tony down gently. "You're okay. Just relax for me."

Tony's eyes darted around the room until they finally landed on Brad. He took a deep breath to calm down, and was glad when he felt his heart slow down to normal.

"Hey, what was that all about?" Brad asked once Tony had stopped struggling against him.

"He's back," whispered Tony, fear evident in his eyes and voice. "Why?"

"He's just worried about you, Tony. I know you don't know who he is, but I promise that Gibbs isn't going to harm you. He's here to look out for you while the person that caused the accident is being searched for."

"I don't know him. Where's my boss?"

"Tony, your boss is Gibbs. He's been your boss for the last thirteen and a half years."

"No. No, you're wrong. I want to talk to Raimey. Now."

Brad sighed. He didn't have any way of convincing Tony that Gibbs was his boss and not Raimey. In fact, he didn't know what to do. He didn't know how he was going to prove to Tony that Gibbs was only there to help, not hurt. He wondered if he could get a therapist to talk to Tony at some point and see if he could remember something.

"Alright, Tony, I'll see if I can find Major Raimey." Brad fixed the blankets over Tony and adjusted the nasal cannula that Tony had accidentally knocked out of place. "I want you to talk to Agent Gibbs for a bit. Just talk."

"Why?"

"Because I'm hoping he'll say something to jog your memory a little bit."

"Fine. But only this one time."

Brad thanked Tony and headed back over to Gibbs. "You can stay a while. I told him to talk to you. Maybe something you say will trigger his memory."

"What if I give him a soft head slap?"

"No. He has enough injuries without you hitting his head." Brad smiled. "I want to get a therapist down here. Maybe they can talk things through with Tony and help."

"I'll call Rachel Cranston. She's always been able to get through to Tony."

"Thank you." Brad left the room, giving Tony and Gibbs privacy.


	5. Chapter 5

**15 April, 2016**

Gibbs entered Tony's room, wondering what was going on. He had gotten a call from a nurse in the ICU asking him to come to the hospital. When he had arrived, another nurse had told him that Tony had asked for him, which was odd since Tony's memory still hadn't improved. He wondered if Tony had remembered something overnight, because Tony was smiling at him when he sat in a chair near the bed, something that Tony had not done since last Friday.

"Hi," said Gibbs warily.

"Hey, Gibbs." Tony looked at the older man, appreciation coursing through his body.

"Is there a problem? The nurses asked me to come in."

"I asked them to call you. I wanted to apologise for being so rude over the last few days."

"You haven't been rude, Tony. Maybe a little afraid, but not rude."

"I feel bad because I didn't recognise you. I think I remember something now, because I know you're my boss. I know you helped me hide the fact that Danny stole money, and I know that you took me under your wing at NCIS. I remember that that was when you slapped the back of my head for the first time."

Gibbs relaxed. Tony had gotten his memory up to, at the very least, the end of 2002 now.

"Can you tell me what year it is?"

"2003."

"Start or end?"

"End."

"Alright. We're getting somewhere now. Did Doctor Cranston speak to you yet?"

"Yesterday. She's coming back on Monday."

"Good. She's good at helping people get their lost memories back."

"She told me to call her Rachel. She's so nice."

"So you know where you work. What else do you remember?"

"Kate. I remember meeting her while she was still in the Secret Service. She and I work well together, but I think I annoy her sometimes."

"Not just Kate that gets annoyed. Keep going. Do you remember McGee?"

"Tim? Yeah. He's a computer nerd. He was fixing our computers last time we saw him."

"He isn't a part of the team yet?"

"He is, just he's still busy in the basement."

"Do you remember Ari Haswari?"

"Yeah. He shot you and Gerald. He likes Kate." Tony made a face. "We have a new ME's assistant. Uh, Palmer, I think his name is."

"Good. Yes, Palmer is Ducky's assistant now. Do you remember anything else?"

"No… Wait…"

"What is it Tony?"

"Ari. He's a Mossad operative that's gone rogue, right? He kidnapped Kate once."

"Yes, he did. Do you remember what happened to Kate after that?"

Tony frowned, a memory clearly bothering him.

"Tell me, Tony."

"Kate… She was shot. But the vest caught it. And, then Ari shot her again."

"Where did she get shot this time?"

"In the head." Tony's eyes watered a little. "Ari is dead too, though."

"Do you know how he died?"

"You shot him." Tony looked at Gibbs. "You shot him to stop him from killing anyone else."

Gibbs nodded. Clearly, Tony did not know Ziva yet. "You're doing well with your memory, Tony. What else can you remember?"

Tony shook his head. "That's it. Did someone replace Kate?"

"Yes. You'll remember soon enough. I'm going to see if Brad is available. Will you be alright until I get back?"

"Yes. But, please come back? It's really lonely here."

"I'll be back. And I'll call Abby to come and spend some time with you too. Would you like that?"

"Yes. Thank you."

Gibbs gave Tony a smile as he left the room.

* * *

"Gibbs? You asked to speak with me?" Brad asked.

"Yeah. I just spoke with Tony. He has some of his memory back, I think. He was able to tell me that it was the end of 2003. He told me that Kate was killed and that I killed the person responsible."

"Good. He's definitely improving. I just checked his latest scans, and the swelling is completely gone. His brain is still quite severely bruised, but I feel confident in saying that he will get his memory back eventually."

Gibbs felt relieved by the news. "What about his injuries? Are they healing?"

"His ribs are almost completely mended, though I think he may still have pain from them for a while. His right kidney has started to heal, but it will take time. The left kidney is healing nicely. I suspect that a few more days will show it to be healed in full. His skull is mending itself well, thanks to the surgeon that glued it back into place."

"What about his legs?"

"The left leg is doing well, the right is too, though it's slower with all the injuries. It's still going to be a while before either leg have healed enough to allow us to even try getting Tony to walk."

Gibbs sighed. He had figured it would take a while, but he just wanted his friend to be okay. He thanked the doctor, then stepped away to call Abby.

* * *

Abby was just getting ready to have lunch when her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and answered it, knowing Gibbs had gone to see Tony.

"How's Tony?" she asked immediately.

"Okay. He got about a year's worth of memories back. He's lonely, Abbs. Can you come and spend some time with him while I see whether Metro has managed to find the person that hit Tony?"

"I'm on my way. Can Tony have anything other than hospital food yet?"

"Yeah, but only small amounts. Just make sure you don't bring pizza. We know what Tony's like when it comes to pizza."

"Okay. I'm on my way. Tell Tony that I'll bring him his favourite hippo."

Abby heard a laugh from Gibbs before he agreed to let Tony know she was on her way and hung up. Abby grabbed Bert from her office and walked out, carrying her lunch with her.


	6. Chapter 6

"Hi, Tony," said Abby as she entered her best friend's hospital room. "Bert and I have missed you."

Tony smiled. He looked up at Abby for a second, then reached out with his right hand to pull her down next to him.

"I think it's obvious that you missed us too," laughed Abby.

"Can I have one of your famous hugs?" Tony asked softly.

"Definitely!" Abby dropped her stuffed hippo onto Tony's lap and wrapped her arms around him, being careful not to hurt him. "Are you hungry?" she asked when she let go.

Tony nodded. He picked up Bert and cuddled the toy as Abby pulled containers of food out of her bag.

"How did you manage to smuggle those in here?" Tony asked.

"I told the nurses that I brought lunch for the two of us. They smiled and said that they were happy to see you eat something you would actually enjoy."

Tony laughed a little. "That's good," he said. "Hospital food is so disgusting. A few days of it is enough."

"Good, cause I brought you some of the leftovers we had at work last night. There's some lasagna, and some ingredients to make wraps. I've got some juice too, if you want any."

"I have plenty of juice here." Tony pointed to the bar fridge. "Check it out."

Curious, Abby opened the fridge door and peeked inside. She laughed when she found that not only was there juice in the fridge, but also coffee. "Did Gibbs leave this?" she asked, showing Tony the coffee bag.

"Uh, no. I asked Brad to get the coffee so that Gibbs could have some if he wanted it. Is it the right brand?" Tony asked, feeling a little overwhelmed and worried.

"I don't think Gibbs has a brand," said Abby as she returned to the bed. "He just drinks whatever the coffee shops have. He'll be fine with it."

Tony relaxed again. "Good," he said softly.

* * *

After lunch, Tony yawned sleepily. "Sorry, Abbs," he said.

"It's okay. You get some sleep. I'll leave Bert here with you, and head back to work. Do you need anything?" Abby asked as she fixed the blankets and moved the heart monitor cords out of the way. She was relieved that Tony had been taken off the rest of the monitors, allowing him more freedom to move around in bed.

"No. Can you tell Gibbs to come over after work?"

"Of course I can, Tony." Abby kissed his head. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Tony pulled Bert into his arms and squashed the toy, smiling briefly when it farted. Then he closed his eyes, fell asleep, and was dreaming of happy times in a matter of minutes.

* * *

Gibbs was so tired by the time he got to Metro PD, but he refused to give in until he had some answers. He strode up to the front desk and waited, almost impatiently, for the clerk to ask him what he needed.

"I want to speak with Detective Frond please," said Gibbs.

"Just a moment. May I ask your name?"

"NCIS Special Agent Gibbs. He should be expecting me."

The clerk nodded and lifted her phone. She spoke quietly for a moment, then smiled at Gibbs. "You can go up to Detective Frond's office, Agent Gibbs. He's waiting for you."

"Thank you." Gibbs gave a quick nod and disappeared, wanting to deal with the detective quickly so he could get back to the hospital.

* * *

"Agent Gibbs, nice to meet you," said Detective Frond in a somewhat rushed tone.

"Could be better circumstances. I know you're busy, so I'll make this quick," said Gibbs. "Have you gotten anywhere with Agent DiNozzo's case?"

"We got video footage of the actual crash, finally. Our techs are tracking the driver's movements as we speak, but it's been five days, so I don't hold much hope for a positive outcome..."

"Excuse me?! Agent DiNozzo is currently laying in a hospital bed with two broken legs; a missing appendix; part of his right kidney is missing and the left one had to be stitched up; majority of his ribs are broken; his skull is broken and his brain is bruised; his left wrist is swollen from all the bruised tissue in it; and he's lost half his memory! So don't tell me that you're thinking of giving up. You will find the person that put Tony in this position, and I don't care how long it takes. You will find him!" shouted Gibbs angrily. "Is that clear?"

Detective Frond smiled. "I didn't say we were giving up, Gibbs. We'll find the guy, but it might take us a while. That's all I was saying."

"If you give up, I'll come back here and deal with you. I couldn't care less if I get into trouble for it."

Gibbs turned and stormed out, huffing as he went.

"Detective Frond, what's going on out here?" asked the detective's captain a second later.

"It's alright, sir. Agent Gibbs is just hurting, that's all."

"How's his agent?"

"From what was just said, I'd guess that he's still in a very bad shape. I can't say I blame Gibbs for being so angry. If I was him, I'd think that I was giving up too."

"Next time he comes for answers, send him to me. I'll see if I can calm him down a little."

Detective Frond nodded. "Of course, sir," he said, though he had no intention of sending Gibbs into the lion's den.


	7. Chapter 7

Gibbs was relieved to hear from Abby that Tony wanted him back at the hospital after work. He was hoping that by the time he got to Tony's room, the younger man would have gotten a few more memories back. The knowledge that his senior agent missed him gave Gibbs a warm feeling that helped him calm down and speak nicely to his team that afternoon.

"Alright, Tim, how's the case going?" Gibbs asked.

McGee pulled a file from his desk and handed it to Gibbs. "Petty Officer Stone is elusive," McGee said with a sigh. "Bishop and I followed him all morning, then he disappeared at a cafe in Georgetown. We searched and asked around, but nobody knew where he had gone. Sorry, boss."

"No problem, Tim. We'll try again tomorrow."

"Really?"

"Really. Now, Abby mentioned that everyone was pitching in to buy a gift for Tony. How much do I need to put in?"

"Nothing, boss. We have it covered."

"Don't be silly, Tim. This is for Tony. How much do I need to put in?"

McGee shrugged. "We put in twenty each. Abby has the money and is going to buy the gift tonight so she can take to Tony tomorrow."

"Right. I'll go see Abby then."

"Boss? How's Tony doing now?"

Gibbs sighed. "Not much better. He's happier, but only slightly."

"Is he past 2003 yet?"

"Not that I'm aware of. I'll ask Abby when I go see her, but I doubt it."

"He remembers me, doesn't he?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'd like to visit him after work."

"Okay. Actually, you know what? Take Bishop with you and go now. Maybe he'll remember something if he sees her."

McGee nodded. "On it, boss."

"And tell him that I'll see him later. I'll bring him some dinner."

* * *

"Hey, Abbs," said Gibbs as he entered her unusually quiet lab.

"Hi," said Abby distractedly.

Gibbs sighed. Abby had been extremely sad and detached since Tony's accident, and Gibbs had been hoping that she would cheer up a little by seeing her best friend. It clearly hadn't worked.

"Abby, McGee mentioned that you were going to buy Tony's present tonight. I want to put some money in for it."

"What?"

"Abbs, are you listening?"

Abby turned around. "Sorry, I was thinking about Tony's gift. I don't know what to get him. What did you say, Gibbs?"

"I said that I want to put money in for Tony's present." Gibbs handed over two twenty dollar notes.

"That's too much..."

"Not for Tony, it isn't. I want you to not have to put extra money in later, Abby. Now, what were you thinking of getting?"

"I don't know. I wanted to get him something to do with movies. Tony really loves his movies."

"What if you get him a few of the new movies that are out? In his mind, he hasn't seen them yet."

Abby smiled. "That's a great idea, Gibbs! What should I get?"

"How about that new cartoon movie? I don't know what it's called. The one with all the animals."

"Zootopia?"

"Yeah, that one."

"Tony didn't really enjoy it when we saw it at the movies."

"Okay. What other movies came out recently?"

"Well, Jurassic World just came out on DVD. Tony liked that movie."

"So get that. And find a few other movies you can give him as well. What about all those older movies he likes? It's a Wonderful Life is one of them."

"He has that already. I'll look around and see what I can find. Thank you, Gibbs."

Gibbs gave Abby a smile and kissed her head. "Tony will probably be bored with me by the end of tonight. Take tomorrow off and spend it with him, okay?"

Abby grinned. She looked happy for the first time in almost a week. "Thank you! I've missed my Tony."

* * *

McGee and Bishop were a little worried about seeing Tony. Both knew that his memory was only up to the end of 2003, which posed a problem. For Bishop, the problem was that Tony had no clue who she was. But she saw it as a chance to let Tony get to know her again, and as a way of starting off on the right foot with him. For McGee, the problem was that he knew so much about Tony that Tony himself did not. And with that came all of the burden to be the one that explained it all again.

"Hi, McGee," said Tony brightly, scaring both agents. "Come in."

Bishop recovered first. She stepped into the brightly lit room that had clearly been decorated by Abby earlier that day, giving Tony a smile. Extending her hand for him to shake, she said,

"Hi, Tony. I'm Ellie Bishop. You probably don't remember me right now, but we work together."

Tony smiled back and shook Bishop's hand. "Did you replace Kate?"

"Uh... no. I replaced someone named Ziva, I think. Who's Kate?"

"She was an agent with us. She just died... Uh, I mean, to me, she just died."

"That's alright, we understand what you mean. Sorry, I don't know who Kate is. McGee probably does, although I think he may have forgotten how to close his mouth before a fly gets in," laughed Bishop.

"That's how he looks after Gibbs has told him to do something that is really hard or impossible. He'll get over it soon." Tony indicated the room. "Do you like the decorations?"

"They're unique. Abby did it, right?"

Tony nodded. "She loves the colour black, but she lightened everything because she knows that black is not necessarily my favourite colour."

"She's been really sad since you got hurt. She misses you so much."

Tony frowned. "I don't like it when Abby is sad."

"None of us do," said McGee, who had finally joined them. "She'll be okay. She's probably trying to convince Gibbs to give her tomorrow off to spend it with you."

"I'm not much company right now. I've been doing a lot of sleeping."

"Abby won't care. She'll just want to join you on the bed and sleep next to you. Or cuddle you until you can't breathe, depending on how tired she is."

"Is Gibbs coming too?"

"He said to tell you he'll be here later, after work, I guess he meant. He's going to bring you dinner."

Tony smiled. "That would be nice. I don't like the hospital food."

"We know. You are probably the most in..."

Bishop elbowed McGee and shushed him. "Ignore him, Tony. He's just being paranoid."

"I don't like hospitals. I never have, but after that stupid plague... Yuck."

McGee grinned, quietly relieved that Tony hadn't registered what he nearly said. "You were definitely the favourite during your hospital stay, Tony. All the nurses loved you. I caught them discussing the patients that they were caring for once, and the nurse that got you as her patient was almost dancing around with joy."

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah. Trust me, even when you weren't trying to be friendly, you were making everyone be your friend."

Tony laughed. "It's part of my charm." He looked at Bishop. "You're pretty, you know that? Are you married?"

"Not anymore. I was, but we got divorced." Bishop shrugged. "It's for the best. He was cheating on me, and he didn't even try to deny it."

Tony glared at the wall. "If I ever find him..."

"No, Tony. It's not necessary."

"I'll make him regret hurting you. I don't know you, but I don't like it when people cheat on other people. He's a jerk."

"He is. But you don't need to do anything. He's already aware that I've got great friends willing to look after me."

Tony smiled again. "Good. If he decides to hurt you again, I'll come to your rescue," he said happily.


	8. Chapter 8

Tony yawned as Gibbs walked up to his room. He was still tired, but he was also quite hungry. Apparently, the food he had eaten at lunch wasn't enough. And the smell from the food Gibbs was carrying was wafting into the room, making Tony more hungry.

"Hi, Tony," said Gibbs with a smile. "How are you?"

"Hungry. What did you bring?" Tony asked.

"Chicken and beef noodle stir-fry."

"That sounds delicious."

Gibbs laughed. "I knew you would say that. Give me a second to raise the bed a little more for you."

Tony nodded, eyeing the take-out containers. He hadn't noticed that Gibbs was sitting on the bed yet, nor had he felt the back of his bed move.

"Here you go," said Gibbs.

Tony took the container from Gibbs and a fork. "Beef?"

"Of course. What else would I get you?"

Tony grinned. "You are the best boss ever. You know that, don't you?"

"Be quiet and eat. We can talk later."

Tony looked up, feeling slightly hurt, but noticed that Gibbs was smiling. Relieved that he hadn't upset his boss, he closed his mouth and slowly ate his dinner.

* * *

 **18 April 2016**

The weekend had proved to be very healing for Tony. He had woken up on Saturday morning to find that he remembered who Ziva was, and by the end of Saturday, his memory had gotten up to the middle of 2005. By the end of Sunday, Tony had memories leading up to the beginning of 2007. And, by the time Tony woke up that Monday morning, he discovered that he had remembered up until November of 2007. It had amazed everyone, but no-one more so that Tony. He was still surprised that his memory was returning so quickly. But he was also scared that Gibbs was hiding an illness from him after remembering that he had saved his boss from drowning.

"Hi, Tony," said Gibbs enthusiastically. "Sorry I couldn't be here yesterday."

"Are you sick?" Tony asked abruptly, looking up at Gibbs with fearful eyes.

"Excuse me?"

"Are you sick?"

"No. Why?"

"You were in the water for too long. You nearly drowned."

Gibbs looked at Tony curiously. "What are you talking about?"

"And Maddie, she's not dead, is she?"

"Oh. Now I get it. No, Tony, Maddie is not dead. She's fine and healthy, and living out in California with her parents. And I'm not sick. It's not 2007, as much as you think it is."

"You almost died."

"But I didn't. Because you jumped into the freezing ocean and saved me."

"You're sure that you're okay?"

"I'm absolutely sure. You can stop worrying about me. Now, I heard that you've been quite a good patient for Brad this weekend. And I also heard that he told you something good about your health."

"What? Oh, right. He's getting me a wheelchair so I don't have to stay in bed. And I get to go home, as long as I can stay somewhere with a bedroom on the ground floor."

"Okay. You'll be staying with me. When can you go home?"

"Tomorrow. Hopefully."

Gibbs smiled. "Well, I guess I should get going then, so I can get a room ready for you at home. Lucky I have a spare bedroom downstairs that my dad normally uses when he stays over."

Tony looked up, his expression suspicious. "You promise that you aren't sick?"

"I promise, Tony."

"Good." Tony looked past his boss and smiled. "Hi, Rachel."

"Good morning, Tony. Hi, Gibbs."

"You know Gibbs?" Tony asked.

"I do. He and I are good friends."

"Okay." Tony smiled. "You know, I forgot that you were coming in today, Rachel. I was going to make sure I had snacks for us."

Rachel laughed. "Don't worry about it, Tony. We don't need snacks. Besides, if you really want something, I'm sure I could sneak off to the cafeteria for something."

"I can come with you. Brad said that he's getting me a wheelchair so I can get out of the bed."

"You must be pretty happy about that."

"I am! I'm going home tomorrow. Or, well, to Gibbs' house, anyway."

"I think that you'll enjoy being with Gibbs. How was your weekend?"

"I got more memories back. I remember Ziva, and I remember that I saved Gibbs and his daughter's friend, Maddie, from drowning. Gibbs said it's not 2007, but I feel like it is."

"I know you do. Remember what we discussed on Thursday?"

"My memory is recovering. I know that. It's just strange, that's all."

Rachel smiled sympathetically. "Why don't we discuss that a little? See if we can uncover more memories?"

Tony grinned. "Yes! I knew I liked you for a reason... Hey, Rachel?"

"Yes?"

"Do I know you? I mean, in 2016?"

Rachel nodded.

"How did we meet? I get the feeling it isn't because you were asked to come and help me."

"You're right. We met because I asked Director Vance... Uh, sorry, the director after Director Shepard..."

"I know Vance. He's the director now? Why?"

"That's something you'll remember soon enough. Anyway, I asked Director Vance if I could do your team's psych evaluations. He agreed, but I really asked because I wanted to meet the people my sister worked with."

"Who's your sister?"

"Think about it. You always tell me I look like her."

Tony thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "You're Kate's sister! Wait, Kate had a sister?"

"She did, yes. She was a very private person though."

Tony smiled. "I remember you now. Dr Kate's Sister. You came out to do evaluations, but you only asked about Kate. And I remember not liking you much at first, but then I realised who you are, and I realised I wanted you to be my friend. I guess I wanted to keep Kate alive and be selfish."

"It's okay. I'm pretty selfish when it comes to Kate's memory too." Rachel grinned. "You know, we didn't meet until 2011. That's a four year jump from your last memory."

Tony frowned sadly. "I don't remember anything between the memories. I just remember you. Why?"

"Because we have a strong relationship. A strong friendship. Sometimes, we remember things that are important to us before anything else."

"Does that mean those missing memories aren't coming back?"

"Not at all. They may take more time, but we can work on them today."

"You're sure?"

"Very sure."


	9. Chapter 9

Tony smiled as he spotted Brad coming into the room with a wheelchair. Excitement filled him as Brad pulled up and locked the chair's brakes.

"Good morning, Tony," he said brightly. "Ready to get out of here for a while?"

"Yes!" Tony pushed his blankets off. "I just need some help to get off this bed, please."

Brad chuckled. "Sure." He quickly helped Tony maneuver himself into the wheelchair. "Are you comfortable?"

"Yes. Can I go to the cafeteria with Rachel now?"

"Of course. Enjoy yourself, and don't forget to come back up here sometime today."

"I won't!" Tony laughed for a moment, then grinned as he rolled himself into the hall and followed Rachel to the elevators.

* * *

"Do you want to eat something, Tony?" Rachel asked as she pushed an already tired Tony into the cafeteria.

"Not hungry," said Tony, though he stared at the sweets on display with a longing look.

"Which dessert do you want?"

"How did you know?"

"Because you keep staring at the dessert case."

Tony smiled. He pointed to a piece of chocolate cake. "That one."

"Alright." Rachel smiled back at Tony, then turned to order a coffee and two slices of the cake.

"I'll pay you back, Rachel," said Tony once Rachel handed him their order and pushed him to a table near an open door. "Just as soon as I can get Gibbs to bring me my wallet, anyway."

"I don't need you to pay me back, Tony. It's alright. Keep your money, and maybe you can shout us next time."

"Okay." Tony looked out the window. "Can we go outside after we've eaten?"

"If you want to."

Tony grinned. "I want to, Rachel. Maybe we can have our session outside in the sun today."

"That sounds like a plan. Are you missing the sun?"

"Yes."

"Well, we'll talk in the sun then." Rachel bit into her cake, surprised at how delicious it was. "Tony, what do you remember about Ziva?"

Tony thought for a moment. "She's Israeli. And pretty."

"What else do you remember?"

"She's smart and dangerous. She can kill someone without them knowing she did it. I sometimes joke around and call her a ninja assassin."

"What do you remember about her family?"

"She was the middle child in her family. She had a sister and a half brother. They're both dead now. Tali died years ago, in a bombing near their home. Ari was the one that killed Kate." Tony sighed. "Sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned that."

"It's okay. Keep going."

"Ziva was Ari's handler, but he went rogue. I could tell from their conversations that Ari loved Ziva and wanted to protect her, that's why she never found him until it was too late. Ziva walked into Gibbs' basement after Ari was already dead, but she doesn't blame Gibbs for it. She thanked him for allowing Ari to die a quick death."

"Let's move past that. What else do you remember from work?"

"Ziva and I went undercovers together."

"Don't you mean 'undercover'?"

"Nope. Well, technically, yes, we were undercover. We were pretending to be a married couple, and we faked having sex."

"How do you fake that?"

"We got under the covers of the bed and I did push-ups above Ziva. It looked real to the FBI agents that were watching us. It was so funny."

"Alright. I'll believe you."

"And, we got locked in a shipping container once. That was eventful, and we sorted out an argument we had been having. Then there was this case where the victim was eaten by a bear in Shenandoah Park, and it turned out that one of the rangers had killed the girl, as well as a few others, and left her in the woods. Ziva, poor thing, fell in love with the killer."

"Okay. What year was this?"

"Start of 2006."

"Tell me what happened two months later."

"Uh... Gibbs was knocked unconscious in a bomb blast. That was when he lost fifteen years of his memory, got it back, moved to Mexico and left me in charge of the team."

"Okay. Skip that then. That's something I need to discuss with Gibbs at a later date. After Gibbs came back, what happened?"

"Ziva was being hunted down for murder, not that she committed any murders. And Abby almost got killed by a smart car. Gibbs was poisoned by an idiot. Paula Cassidy died. That was at the start of 2007."

"What came next?"

"I saved Gibbs and Maddie from drowning."

"I overheard you saying earlier that you thought Gibbs was sick."

"He said he's not, and I guess he probably isn't since it's not actually 2007 anymore. But I feel worried about him."

"That's understandable. I can assure you that Gibbs is completely healthy."

"Good."

"What else can you tell me?"

"I remember that McGee and I were on a stakeout once, shortly after the whole thing with Gibbs. McGee put ink on my binoculars to prank me. It was funny, after the event, but I remember that I wanted to kill him for it at the time."

"When did this occur?"

"I'm not too sure. It was definitely after saving Gibbs, so it has to be at least after November 2007. But it wasn't too far along from that incident either."

"Would McGee remember this?"

"Probably. He's got a good memory."

"Maybe we can ask him later on then."

"Okay." Tony smiled. "Can we go outside now?"

"Sure," said Rachel. She stood and pushed Tony out into the courtyard, agreeing that the sun was nice.

* * *

 **A.N: Hey everyone! Let me know in reviews if you want me to make the next chapter more of Rachel and Tony talking things through and Tony remembering more, or if you would prefer to skip to Tuesday and Tony going home with his memory up to April of 2008.**

 **Thank you for reading! I hope you're enjoying this story as much as I'm enjoying writing it.**


	10. Chapter 10

**19 April 2016**

Tony was relieved to be going home. Although both his legs were still broken and he was pretty much confined to bed rest for the next twenty-four hours, he was excited to be out of the hospital's white rooms and halls. Gibbs had organised a ground floor bedroom for him, and had made a few changes to his house so that Tony could get around in his wheelchair. As Tony looked out the window of Gibbs' car, he saw that his boss had gone to a lot of trouble to let Tony stay with him- a ramp had been built out the front of the house to let Tony get in and out of the house. It was nice to know that someone cared about him.

"Come on, Tony," said Gibbs kindly as he unfolded the wheelchair Brad had given Tony and helped the younger man into it.

"Thank you for doing this, boss," said Tony, who had found out the day before from McGee that his memory was now up to April of 2008. "I'm really grateful for your help."

"Always, bud." Gibbs pushed the chair up the ramp and into the living room. "Your bedroom is across the hall until we can get you up and down stairs, alright?"

Tony nodded. He looked around and spotted a blanket on the couch with pillows. "Boss, where are you planning on sleeping?"

"On the couch. It's easier if you need help during the night."

"You don't have to..."

"I want to, Tony. I won't argue with you about that."

Tony smiled. "Okay," he said, feeling warm inside. He looked at the second couch and saw that it was made up as a bed already. "Boss?"

"That's for you. Brad wants you on bed rest, and I figured you would enjoy being able to watch TV during the day, so I made the couch into a bed."

"Can I watch movies?"

"Of course. McGee connected up a DVD player and brought over a bunch of your movies for you." Gibbs helped Tony onto the couch and covered him with the blankets. "What do you want to watch?"

"I can do it..."

"Apart from the bed rest, you have two broken legs. I doubt you would be able to move around very well. Besides, McGee showed me how to use the machine, and it's pretty easy."

Tony shrugged, glad that he wasn't having to get up and down all the time. "Okay. I'll watch a western with you."

"You hate westerns, Tony."

"Only when I watch them alone," Tony admitted. "I like watching them with you."

Gibbs smiled. "Alright, I'll put on a John Wayne movie." He quickly inserted the DVD into the machine, then sat next to Tony. He could see that the younger man was already falling asleep, so Gibbs coaxed him into resting his head on the pillows. Then he gently rubbed Tony's back soothingly, providing some comfort for Tony.

* * *

When Tony woke up and looked at the clock, he noticed that he had been sleeping for the last two hours. Sitting up, he yawned, then looked around for Gibbs.

"Boss?" Tony called out when he couldn't find the older man. "Where are you?"

"Kitchen, Tony. Do you need some help?" Gibbs asked.

"No. Can I come in there?"

"Bed rest, remember? I'll be there in a moment."

"Okay." Tony leaned back against his pillow while he waited.

A moment later, Gibbs appeared with a smile and a tray. "How are you feeling?" he asked Tony.

"Pretty good, actually. The pain is minimal," answered Tony.

"Good. It's time for lunch, and you have an appointment after you eat."

"Appointment? With who?"

"Me, Tony."

Tony looked up and grinned. "Hi, Rachel," he said happily. "I never thought I'd be so eager to talk with a shrink, but I really like you."

"Good. I like you too. Let's see if that helps you remember anything else."

"Okay. I can talk and eat at the same time..." Tony looked at Gibbs. "When can I have pizza?"

Gibbs laughed. "I guess some things never change. I'll look into pizza for dinner, alright?"

"Thank you, Gibbs." Tony turned back to Rachel after taking a bite of the sandwich Gibbs had made him. "Where should I start?"

* * *

Twenty minutes into their conversation, Tony smiled. "I think I remember something else," he blurted out.

"Good. Tell me about it," said Rachel.

"Jenny... she was in trouble..."

"What kind of trouble?"

"She was being investigated for murder."

"Who's murder, Tony?"

Tony scrunched up his face while he thought. "The Frog... La Grenouille. Jeanne's father."

"When was this?"

"April... 2008. The end of April."

"Did she kill this person?"

"I'm not sure. I could understand if she did, but I don't know. I'm guessing it's something I never found out. Jenny was our director up until the end of May that year, and she never would have told us the truth."

"Was the director? Why did she leave?"

Tony shook his head. "Something happened to her... I don't remember what it was." Tony suddenly inhaled a deep breath. "Actually..."

"What happened to Jenny?"

"She was killed. Shot. Ziva and I... We were supposed to protect Jenny... We failed..." Tony's lip quivered as he remember what had happened to him after that. "We were punished. Ziva went back to Israel... And I went to..."

"Where did you go, Tony?" Rachel asked gently, being careful not to hurt her friend.


	11. Chapter 11

"Where did you go, Tony?"

Tony hesitated. He knew the answer, but he also knew that he hadn't enjoyed the experience. He wasn't sure if he wanted to discuss that right then, especially now that he had remembered that Jenny was dead.

"Tony," said a deep, gruff voice. "Tony, it's okay to talk about it."

Tony looked up into his boss' face, and the compassion he found there helped him to calm down slightly. "Are you sure?" he asked in a whisper.

"I am. I know it wasn't the best time for you, and I know what you were feeling and what you believed. But, I also know that you got through it. I know you can again."

Tony nodded slowly. "Can you stay in here?"

"I'm not going anywhere." Gibbs sat on the couch with Tony, ignoring the reprimanding look Rachel was giving him. If Tony needed him, he was going to be there, and nobody would get in his way.

Completely out of character for him, Tony leaned against his boss. He had let his guard down when he started talking to Rachel in the hospital, and he was yet to rebuild his walls. Right then, his emotions were in control, and they had him completely upset and a little afraid, just as he had been when he had originally been punished for Jenny's death.

"It's alright, Tony," whispered Gibbs comfortingly. "Just talk about it."

Finally, Tony sighed and looked back at Rachel. "I went to the USS Seahawk..."

"Is that a naval ship?" Rachel asked.

"Yes. A really horrible one... The crew don't like NCIS, and they really didn't like me. I didn't care that they hated me- it meant I was doing my job- but I didn't appreciate what they did to me either."

"How long where you there?"

"Almost four months. I wasn't allowed to contact anyone at home, so I didn't have any support. The crew loved that I was the only NCIS agent on board, because they knew that whatever they did to me, I wouldn't have any witnesses."

"When did you come back to DC?"

"I think it was either the second or the third of October, 2008."

"Can you give me a quick run down of what happened on that ship?"

"I don't want to." Tony looked at Gibbs. "I don't want to relive that, boss. Is that okay?"

"Of course it is, Tony. You don't have to talk about something if you don't want to." Gibbs looked at Rachel. "Is that understood?"

Rachel nodded. "That's alright. Let's talk about what happened when you came home, Tony. Did you return to Gibbs' team?"

"Yes. Gibbs forced Vance to put me back in my old job."

"Were you happy to be back?"

"Yes. Of course I was- I got to be back with Gibbs."

Rachel smiled. "How did you feel, Gibbs?"

"Relieved. I know what Tony went through on that ship. It killed me to know that he was being hurt and targeted and there was nothing I could do. I spent those four months that he was gone arguing with Vance to get Tony back," said Gibbs. "Having him back helped me feel a lot better too. I had my best agent back and I felt safe again. I trust everyone on my team, otherwise they wouldn't be on my team, but I know that Tony always has my six, and I'll always have his."

"That's good to know." Rachel turned back to Tony. "What happened when you came back?"

"Abby squashed me." Tony grinned at the memory. "Everyone had missed me, but Abby's the only person on the planet that would bear hug a person until they can't breathe. She filled me in on the four months I missed in roughly an hour."

"I meant after that, although it is good to know that the team missed you. Tell me about your first case back."

"It started with a dead woman in Rock Creek Park. She was having an affair with a senator. Turned out to be the senator's wife that killed the woman after finding out about the affair. And Abby found out that McGee stole her cupcake that Ziva had gotten for her as a gift."

"Okay. Keep going. What came next?"

"We had a case where Gibbs and I went to Arizona and had to ride horses. I hate riding horses."

"Why?"

"I don't like the bumpy ride. If I wanted that, I'd get an off-roader and ride around the desert."

"How long did you spend in Arizona?"

"A couple of days. We were going to get a witness and bring her back to DC."

* * *

Tony was glad that his memory was starting to return at a faster rate. While he thought it was February, 2009, he knew that he was getting more of his memory back and was confident that he would be alright in just a few days.

"Hey, Tony," said Gibbs. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. I was just thinking about how quickly things are coming back to me now. I'm surprised by it, but relieved at the same time," answered Tony. "Is that a good thing?"

"Yeah, it is. Listen, memories come back when we're ready for them to return. The more you rest, the more memories will come back to you, alright?"

Tony nodded. "Thank you, Gibbs. It's a relief to know that I can rely on you when I need help."

"I'm always here, bud. Always." Gibbs sat down next to Tony. "Let's see if there's a movie on TV, alright?"


	12. Chapter 12

**20 April 2016**

Wednesday afternoon was a warm, sunny afternoon. Tony was glad that he could get off the couch now, even if he was still stuck in his wheelchair. He was currently sitting on one of Gibbs' outdoor lounges in the backyard, a glass of juice in his hand. He was waiting for Gibbs to come back outside, but he had gotten distracted by an argument one of Gibbs' neighbours were having. He didn't normally listen in on arguments, but they were loud and it was getting louder with each new insult.

"Tony? You alright?" Gibbs called from the back door.

"Shouldn't we do something? The guy is really being rude to her," said Tony.

"They always fight like that. I've called the police a few times, so have some other neighbours. We all learnt a long time ago that these arguments are never as bad as they sound. Don't worry, she's just as bad as he is."

Tony looked hesitantly at his cell phone on the table next to him. "Are you sure, Gibbs?"

"Very sure. It'll work out in no time." Gibbs smiled. "It's nice to know that you care though."

"Wendy and I used to fight like that. She liked to be in charge, and she used her older age against me. I didn't really know any better at the time, so I let it happen. At least until we got engaged, anyway."

"You fought loud enough for the entire street to hear?"

"Uh, no. It was inside an apartment, so it was the building that heard."

"So much better, hey?" Gibbs laughed. "How are you feeling?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Good. I'm happy to be off the couch. The wheelchair isn't too bad. At the moment, anyway." Tony looked at his boss. "Gibbs, am I dating someone right now?"

"Not that I know of. You've been pretty content by yourself recently."

"Who was my last girlfriend?"

"Her name is Zoe Keates. Do you remember her?"

"Of course. We worked together in Philly. When did she come back into my life?"

"A couple of years ago. You guys dated for two years and broke up four or five months ago."

"I wonder why we tried dating? We were really good friends, but we agreed that we never wanted to date each other."

"I'm not sure. From what I understand, your relationship wasn't exactly a good one. You told me in January that you were glad that you broke up and that you didn't feel that a relationship was what you wanted with Zoe."

Tony nodded. He had long since found that his head wasn't painful, though it sometimes felt heavier than normal. Brad had told him that it was due to him having surgery only a week earlier, and it would get better the more he rested.

"Can you answer one more question for me?" Tony asked.

"Sure. What's bothering you?"

"These injuries that I have- are they healing? I didn't want to ask Brad at the hospital, I don't know why."

"That's okay. Yes, the injuries are healing. Your memory is coming back, which means that the bruising is easing. Your wrist is okay now, and it's getting much stronger the more you use it. Your legs are probably the only injured parts of you that haven't begun to heal very well yet."

"Okay." Tony smiled. "Thank you for being honest with me, by the way."

"Not a problem, Tony."

* * *

 **21 April 2016**

"Hi, Abby!" exclaimed Tony happily.

It was still a little early in the morning on Thursday, but Abby had stopped by Gibbs' house on her way to work to spend some time with Tony.

"Hi, Tony. How are you feeling this morning?" Abby asked as she cuddled her best friend tightly.

"Like I wouldn't mind being able to breathe..."

"Sorry." Abby looked apologetic.

"That's okay. I know you do it out of love." Tony smiled at his friend. "How's work?"

"Boring without you. I miss you coming into my lab for updates."

"You do?"

"Of course. We always find a way to have fun when you come to the lab. Work just isn't the same without you there."

"I'll be back, Abbs."

"I know."

Tony smiled again and pulled Abby onto the couch next to him. "I'm coming back as soon as these legs heal enough for me to walk."

"No. No, you need to be completely better before you come back," said Abby worriedly.

"I can do desk work once I'm on crutches. At least I'll be able to sit in the lab with you and do work."

"Are you sure about that?" she asked suspiciously.

"I am," answered Tony confidently.

Abby smiled. "Okay, I guess I can wait then. When will you be on crutches?"

"I'm not sure yet. Probably not for another couple of weeks. Once my left leg is strong enough to hold my wait, I'll get the crutches."

"Can I come to your therapy sessions with you?"

"Of course you can! Having you there will make them more bearable."

Abby giggled. "Good. And if you don't work hard enough, I'll make you."

"Gee, thanks Abbs," said Tony sarcastically before he pulled his best friend into another hug.


	13. Chapter 13

**22 April 2016**

Tony sighed as he continued to wait for his physical therapist to arrive. He had been early for his appointment because Gibbs had had to drop him off on his lunch break, but surely it was time for his turn now? Tony looked at his watch and groaned. He still had twenty minutes to wait before his two-fifteen appointment. Boredom had already caused him to read all of the magazines in the waiting room. He had even read and re-read all of the informative posters hanging around the room.

"Hey, Tony!" exclaimed a familiar voice.

Tony looked up and smiled in relief. "Abby! Thank god you're here. I am so bored!"

"Gibbs said he dropped you off around one. He wanted me to tell you that he's really sorry about that."

"It's okay. There's just nothing to do. If I had known that, I would have brought the iPad that McGee dropped off yesterday."

Abby grinned. "Well, never fear," she said with a giggle. "I'll fix your boredom!" Abby threw her arms around Tony and hugged him tightly.

"Abbs... too tight..."

"Oops... Sorry," said Abby.

"It's alright. So, how was work today?"

"Not too bad. We got a new case to work on finally. Uh, not that it's a good thing. It's just better than working on cold cases. I have evidence to test."

"Then why aren't you in your lab?"

"Everything is running and won't be ready until Monday. Gibbs said I could come here and help you with your therapy, then take you home. He said that Rachel is coming to see you at four?"

"She is. You can stay for that."

"Yay! I haven't seen Rachel in a while. I've missed her."

"Okay... I guess she probably missed you too."

"Of course she did. Oh, right, sorry. I forgot about your memory. You seem like my Tony. It's hard to remember that your memory is up to 2009 right now."

"It's alright, Abby. Stop worrying so much."

"Mr DiNozzo, your physical therapist just finished with his last patient. Do you want to go in early?" asked the receptionist.

"Yes," said Tony. "Thank you."

"Follow me."

Tony started to wheel himself along behind the receptionist, but he quickly tired. He was grateful when Abby wordlessly took over pushing his wheelchair, and looked at her with a soft smile.

"I'm happy to help, Tony," said Abby in response.

* * *

"Tony, I'm Richard. Feel free to call me Richie if you like," said the physical therapist five minutes later.

"Nice to meet you, Richie," replied Tony. "This is Abby. She's my best friend... I think."

"We are best friends, Tony. That will never change," said Abby happily. "It's nice to meet you, Richie."

"You too, Abby. Did you want to stay here with Tony?" asked Richard.

"I do."

Richard nodded. "Okay. Before we can start any therapy, Tony, I need to ask you a couple of questions."

"Okay," said Tony.

"First, I do have your medical records here, so I know what you've gone through and I know what injuries you have. As your legs heal, I'll help you start putting weight onto them. Until then, we'll just build your strength. You'll need it when you get onto the crutches."

"Alright."

"Second, I'm aware of your memory loss. We'll do some exercises that should help to improve your memory a little more. Before we can do that, I need to know, what is your memory up to right now?"

"2009."

"What month?"

"February."

"Okay. We'll start working on that today. Is that okay with you?"

"Yes."

"Great." Richard smiled. "This isn't going to be easy, Tony. You'll leave here with very little to no energy. Are you okay with doing therapy?"

"Not really. I've always been active," said Tony sadly. "But, I don't want to stay in a wheelchair forever either, so I'm willing to work hard."

"Perfect! Let's get started then."

Tony nodded, feeling anxious, but knowing that Abby would be there with him to help him when he needed it.

* * *

Tony groaned as Richard helped him back into the wheelchair an hour later. His body was sore from lifting weights and his head was pounding from all the concentrating he had been doing. He felt like he had accomplished something though, which was helping him to feel a little better about everything. But, therapy was hard- there was no doubt about that. Richard hadn't been lying when he said that Tony wouldn't have energy after the session. Tony had found himself tiring after just twenty minutes.

"Alright, Tony. You did a good job today. I can see that you really do want to heal," said Richard. "However, I think I pushed you a little too much today, so next time, we'll do a little less exercises, okay?"

"No. I want to get better," said Tony after he had swallowed half the bottle of water that Abby handed him.

"You will get better. Remember, a lot of your healing won't come from therapy. Your body needs to heal on its own, so things will go at a pace that your body can handle."

"Then why do I need therapy?"

"You broke both legs at once, Tony. One of them has already been broken in the past and is likely to be weaker now. Your doctor knows that you want to return to NCIS as a field agent, so you need to learn to put pressure on them again."

"I know how to walk, Richie."

"I never said you didn't. Walking will be a lot harder after this until your legs get used to carrying around the weight of your body."

Tony sighed. "I know that... I just miss work and my friends. I know there's a lot I don't remember yet, but I know that this is the very first job that I've ever missed being at."

"And, you will go back soon. Let your legs heal. Once that happens, you'll be back to running around after suspects in no time at all." Richard smiled sympathetically. "I know that it's hard, especially for someone so active, but you will get back there, I promise. I'll do everything I can to get you back there."

Tony smiled. "I believe that you will, Richie. I do, really, but it's still hard."

"Nobody expects this to be easy for you, Tony."

"Of course we don't," added Abby as she cuddled Tony close. "Anyone that says this is easy can deal with me. How does that sound?"

Tony laughed. "We'll see, Abbs."


	14. Chapter 14

Gibbs was worried when he finally got home from work that afternoon. Abby had called while Tony was having a shower after therapy to tell him that the first session had been good and productive, but that Tony's spirits were not as good. She had mentioned that he was missing work and his friends, and that his desire to get back to work was making him push himself far too much. Even Abby was getting worried about her best friend. Gibbs understood Tony's pain and his desire- he had been just as bad after every injury he had ever had in his life. But, he also knew that Tony wasn't ready to go to work again, even on desk duty. The only bright spot about desk duty was being able to work in Abby's lab, and that would only go so far. Tony would be bored with that in under a week.

"Hey, Gibbs," said Abby anxiously when he stepped into his house. "Tony insisted on making dinner, but he fell asleep. I ordered pizza instead. Is that okay?"

"Pizza is fine, Abbs." Gibbs smiled, hiding his own worry. "Where is Tony now?"

"Still sleeping on the couch."

"Leave him to sleep. Follow me." Gibbs led Abby into the basement, leaving the door open to be able to hear Tony if needed.

"Gibbs, Tony is really sad... I don't think he should be doing physical therapy yet."

"He needs to do the therapy, Abby. He'll be alright- he'll get used to it. I'm interested in knowing what the therapist had to say."

"Richie said that Tony is doing really well considering his injuries. I agree with that."

"How did the session go today? What did this Richie have Tony do today?"

"He did some weights to help Tony strengthen his upper body. They did some exercises to help Tony improve his memory. It was a lot. Richie said that he thought that he had pushed Tony too much for the first session."

"Do you agree?"

"A little. I know Richie wants to do what he can to help my Tony. My beloved Tony charmed him within ten minutes." Abby smiled at that. "Richie likes him a lot."

"I think that Tony will be alright with the therapy, Abbs. He just needs to adjust. His memory is returning quickly, and it's making things harder on him. Rachel is coming by in half an hour. She'll know what to do."

"Okay." Abby was still a little anxious. "I'll go wake..."

"Abby?" Tony called sleepily.

"Never mind. He's awake." Abby plastered a smile onto her face and headed up the stairs. "I'm here, Tony. Is everything okay?"

"What time is it? Rachel should be here soon."

"It's three-thirty. Gibbs is home."

"Where's Gibbs?"

"In the basement. Where else would he be?"

Tony giggled. "That's a good point. Do you still want lasagne for dinner?"

"Maybe tomorrow. I've ordered pizza instead. Why don't we prepare the lasagne though? We have half an hour before Rachel arrives."

"Okay. Can you help me into the wheelchair though?"

"Of course I can," said Abby, looking at him like he was silly. "I'm your best friend, Tony. I'll help with anything."

* * *

At four on the dot, Rachel walked into Gibbs' house. She smiled when she found Tony in the kitchen with Abby, putting the finishing touches on the lasagna.

"Hey, Abby. Hi, Tony," she said cheerfully.

Tony looked over with a giant grin. "Hi, Dr Kate's Sister!" he exclaimed.

"Someone is cheery."

"You're just in time to see my special lasagna."

"What makes it so special?"

"I can't tell you that. Only Abby and I know. Sorry." Tony grinned happily.

"Okay... I guess," sighed Rachel playfully. "Well, if you're finished then, can we go have a chat?"

"Okay. You can make more of my memory return."

Rachel laughed. "I think you have selective hearing, Tony. I can't bring back your memory. Only time can."

"But you help anyway."

"I do, yes."

"Good. That means you can help me today."

Shaking her head, Rachel knew she was fighting a losing battle. She wisely didn't answer Tony as she followed him into the living room.


End file.
